PATRIOTIC FUNDS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20208, 29 March 1940, Page 4

PATRIOTIC FUNDS

POWER BOARD POLICY LOCAL EFFORT ONLY DONATION OF £SO RETURN OF SOLDIERS At its meeting to-day the Poverty Bay Electric-Power Board laid down a policy of making contributions to patriotic funds, the board agreeing to contribute only to the East Coast Province Patriotic Council. A donation of £SO was authorised, and provision was made for future amounts.

The matter was discussed by the finance committee, which reported having considered an appeal for a contribution to the fighting services welfare fund. “The chairman, Mr. F. R. Ball, stated that there would be many similar appeals in the future and he thought most of these appeals would be made from organisations operating from Wellington,” the report read. “All were no doubt worthy of suport, but in his opinion more attention should be paid to the matter of accumulating funds to provide for the men when they return home from active service. He considered that the local committee. i.e., the East Coast Provincial Patriotic Council, would -be' required to shoulder a good deal of these burdens and in his opinion any contributions which the board made should go to that; council. “He moved that the board be recommended to donate £SO to the funds of the East. Coast Provincial Patriotic Council. Mr. TrafTord seconded this and the motion was carried. Future Policy “In regard to donations generally, after discussion it was resolved to recommend the board that all future donations for patriotic purposes bcmade to the East Coast Provincial Patriotic Council, with a provision that the council had power to make grants as it thought fit from these funds to the funds of other organisations. "The position is very complicated at present.” said the chairman, when commenting on the report. He added that while in some centres the provincial councils were controlling the funds, in others donations were being sent direct to Wellington. The Gisborne district usually bore more than its share in finding money for patriotic appeals and also in the numbers of men sent to the military forces. If the Gisborne district was not careful, there -might n9t be sufficient money left for the men when they came back He considered that the Gisborne district should follow some others, and that all money should pass through the provincial patriotic cilGisborne Above Quota Mr. H. H. De Costa agreed.that Gisborne should have sufficient funds to assist the sick and wounded when they returned. Mr. Chas. Matthews endorsed the chairman’s sentiments, and as chairman of the finance committee of the local patriotic effort he said that the local funds were limited, and there was nothing in sight. At. the same time much money was going to Wellington. Although the recent appeal was a worthy one, it had cleaned up all the ready cash available in the district.

The chairman reported that the Gisborne quota to the fighting services welfare fund, nearly £4OOO, was approximately 4 per cent of the total of £IOO,OOO aimed at, or about one-twenty-fifth of the total, whereas on a population basis Gisboxme and district would probably need to send only one-seventy-fifth of the total to fill its quota, and so far the £IOO,OOO had not been reached yet The committee’s report was adopted.